Traumatic aortic rupture during pregnancy

Balaji Badmanaban1, Andrew Diver, Niaz Ali

  • 1Department of Cardiac Surgery, Royal Victoria Hospital, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT 12 6 BA, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

A 29-year-old woman, in her third trimester of pregnancy, underwent emergency Caesarian section for placental abruption following a road traffic accident. Following transfer, an abrupt change in the diameter of the aorta was noted on CT scan. Aortography confirmed aortic rupture distal to the left subclavian artery and Dacron graft replacement of this segment was carried out, utilizing a left atrial to descending aorta partial bypass through a centrifugal pump. The mother is alive and well at 4 months follow-up.

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